In the winter of the eleventh year of Qian Yuan, goose-feather snow fell in flurries, piling thick snow on the roof tiles of the street-facing shops. A humble shop seemed on the verge of collapse in the wind and snow.
The pristine white snow piled up to the shop’s threshold. A few slivers of faint light filtered through the dilapidated wooden door, falling upon the snow outside. From within, the faint sound of a child’s sobs could be heard.
Inside the shop, a burly, fleshy man kicked over a chair in front of him. He propped his bent arms on his legs, the corners of his eyes lifting as he scanned the painfully thin siblings before him. His gaze lingered on Shen Zhihe for a moment. Suddenly, he stroked his chin and revealed a lewd smile. He bent down, leaning close to the siblings—so close that Shen Zhihe could almost smell the scent of rouge and powder on his clothes. His coarse fingertips pinched her chin, forcing it up.
Shen Zhihe lifted her head with the force of his grip. Strands of messy hair slid away, revealing a small, pale face. Perhaps due to an extremely hard life, the girl’s sunken cheeks made her eyes seem enormous.
“Though you’re a bit scrawny, you have some looks. If you can’t produce the money to repay the debt today, then you’ll use yourself to pay it off.” Feeling the warmth of her skin, a trace of interest flashed in the man’s lowered eyes.
Shen Zhihe bit her lip, kneeling on the ground and holding her younger brother, who was trembling with fear. She looked up at the burly thugs standing behind the man, knowing that if she couldn’t give them an answer today, things would not end well.
As she soothed her frail little brother, her heart filled with bitterness. She had been a food blogger with millions of followers, but she had died in an accident. When she woke up again, she had become this orphan, dragging her young brother along.
The original owner of this body and her family were from the second branch of the Shen family and had lived with the main branch in the Shen Residence down the street. Unfortunately, after the original owner’s parents died from an epidemic, her aunt from the main branch saw that the siblings were orphaned and helpless. With malicious intent, she seized the second branch’s fields and money, then drove the two of them out of the house.
Fortunately, the original owner’s parents had left behind a shop. They must have long been aware of the main branch’s true colors, as they had hidden the deed, which was why it hadn’t been snatched away by them yet. But looking at the current situation, with a wolf at the front door and a tiger at the back, it seemed this shop couldn’t be saved either.
Unexpectedly, at that moment, Shen Zhian, who had been curled up in Shen Zhihe’s arms, shot out from her embrace like a small beast. He rammed his head into the man, shouting, “Get away! Don’t you hurt my sister!”
Caught off guard, the man was knocked back a few steps. He instantly flew into a rage, grabbing the boy by the collar and lifting him up like a little chick. “You little brat,” he cursed under his breath.
“Lin Ye, Zhian is young and doesn’t know any better. He has offended you, but please don’t lower yourself to his level.” Shen Zhihe stared fearfully at the hand gripping Shen Zhian, terrified he would throw the boy out in a fit of anger. She quickly stepped forward and pleaded.
Seeing the girl’s submissive demeanor, Lin Qian sneered. “Miss Shen, do you take me for some great philanthropist? It’s only natural to repay one’s debts. Although your father borrowed the money, he is now deceased. As the ancients said, a son must repay his father’s debts. The other day when I came to collect, you said you were short on funds and asked me to give you a few more days. Five days have passed. I’ll say it again: if you can’t produce the money today, you’ll use yourself to pay the debt.”
Hearing this, Shen Zhian, still held by Lin Qian, grew anxious. He turned to look at his sister and saw her worried gaze fixed on him. Ever since their parents died, he and his sister had depended on each other. Was he going to lose his sister now? At this thought, great sorrow welled up in Shen Zhian’s heart. He was no longer afraid. Fury gave him courage, and he lowered his head to bite down hard on the hand that held him.
With a cry of pain, Lin Qian’s hand loosened, and Shen Zhian fell straight to the ground.
Shen Zhihe’s heart leaped in alarm. She lunged forward and caught him in her arms.
“You little brat, you dare to bite me! If I don’t teach you a lesson today, where will I, Lin Qian, put my face in the future? Tie these two up and take them away!” Lin Qian clutched his throbbing hand, his gaze dark as he glared at the siblings and snorted coldly.
As soon as he finished speaking, the thugs behind him strode toward Shen Zhihe and her brother. Just as one reached out to grab them, Shen Zhihe held down the struggling Shen Zhian and looked up at Lin Qian, who was watching them with an air of detached amusement.
“Lin Ye, why don’t you go to the main branch of the Shen family to collect their debt? As far as I know, the main branch also owes you a considerable sum, and the repayment date is long past. Could it be that you see we have no elders, no one to back us, so we can be bullied at will?”
The young girl protected her little brother, her back straight as she looked the man right in the eye.
Hearing this, Lin Qian waved his hand to stop the thug, a playful look in his eyes. He had heard that the eldest daughter of the Shen family’s second branch was meek and easily bullied, but now, her sharp gaze showed no trace of meekness. “Naturally, it was your aunt who told me that this shop of yours earns a lot of money every day, and that the debt was incurred to pay for your father’s medical treatment. It’s only right that the two of you repay it.”
The cold wind howled outside. Shen Zhihe sneered inwardly. It was just as she had suspected. That family from the main branch was still after the shop her father had left them, trying to find ways to snatch it from her. At this thought, she lowered her gaze to Shen Zhian in her arms, her fingers unconsciously fiddling with the corner of his clothes.
After a moment, she lifted her head and said to Lin Qian, “Lin Ye, you’ve seen it for yourself today. Although my shop doesn’t rake in a fortune, its location is excellent. If managed well, it can certainly earn a lot of money. I truly don’t have the funds to repay the debt right now. How about I mortgage this shop to you? Once I’ve earned enough, I’ll come back to you to redeem it. What do you think?”
“Sister! No—”
Before Shen Zhian could finish, Shen Zhihe covered his mouth. She stared straight at Lin Qian, her eyes clear and bright.
With his mouth covered, Shen Zhian looked up at Shen Zhihe, utterly bewildered. If they mortgaged the shop, they would truly have nowhere to go. It was the dead of winter, and the northern frontier was bitterly cold. Without a place to shelter from the wind and rain, they would never survive the harsh winter.
As if sensing Shen Zhian’s doubts, Shen Zhihe didn’t look down, but her hand stroked his head reassuringly.
Standing before the table with his arms crossed, Lin Qian watched the siblings’ interaction for a moment. He then pulled over a stool and sat down with a commanding air. He tapped the table with his bent index finger. “Miss Shen, you have quite the nerve. I lent your father real silver, and now you’re trying to fob me off with this dilapidated shop.”
Lin Qian’s eyes held a malicious glint. He wanted to see what other tricks this little girl had up her sleeve. He remembered how the main branch of the Shen family had stuffed him with a good deal of money this very morning, just to get this shop through him. But if the shop could really make money, why should he do the work for someone else? He might as well take the shop for himself. He was sure the main branch wouldn’t dare say much.
Everyone in the room had their own schemes. In her past life, Shen Zhihe had often dealt with all sorts of people. Now, seeing Lin Qian’s expression, how could she not understand? She walked quickly to the table in the center of the room, pulled open a small drawer, and took out a ledger.
“Lin Ye, why don’t you take a look at the shop’s recent income before you make a decision?”
Lin Qian looked up at the girl standing before him. Gone was her earlier submissive demeanor; she stood before him with neither servility nor arrogance. He felt a flicker of admiration.
He took the ledger from Shen Zhihe’s hand and flipped through a few pages. The income did indeed look good. No wonder the main branch of the Shen family coveted this shop so much. At this thought, he looked up suspiciously. Before he could speak, he heard the girl’s clear voice beside him.
“Is Lin Ye wondering why, if this shop earns so much, my brother and I can’t produce the money to repay the debt?” Shen Zhihe gave a bitter laugh, a layer of sorrow clouding her eyes.
“Since Lin Ye has been to the Shen Residence, you must know about the friction between my brother and me and the main branch. In that case, I won’t be afraid to air our dirty laundry. My aunt saw that our parents were gone and my brother was still young. Under the pretext that I would one day marry into another family and shouldn’t inherit my parents’ property, she forcibly seized my branch’s money. A few days ago, when she failed to get the deed to this shop from me, she flew into a rage and threw us out.”
Shen Zhihe tilted her head and saw Lin Qian’s expression soften slightly. She quickly stepped forward, picked up the teapot, poured a cup of hot tea, and pressed it into his hand. “I am now an orphan girl with a young brother, and I’m still young myself. I’m afraid I can’t protect this shop. It’s better to mortgage it to you. After all, everyone knows you are a man of your word. When I’ve saved enough money, I can still redeem it. If it falls into my aunt’s hands, it would be like throwing a meat bun at a dog—gone for good.”
“Hahaha, I didn’t realize that for someone so young, you see people so clearly. Since you’ve put it that way, let’s sign this contract. I’ll go report it to the authorities afterward. From this day on, this shop belongs to me. When you’ve saved enough money in the future, we’ll see if you want to redeem it.”
Shen Zhihe’s words had left Lin Qian feeling thoroughly pleased. He took the contract his subordinate handed him and gestured for Shen Zhihe to come and look. Seeing no issues, both parties signed and put their thumbprints on it.
Watching Lin Qian’s figure gradually disappear into the snow, Shen Zhihe couldn’t help but let out a sigh of relief. She closed the door and turned around, only to be met with the sight of Shen Zhian on the verge of tears. He was nervously twisting the corner of his clothes. Before he could speak, tears began to fall, startling Shen Zhihe. She quickly knelt down. “Zhian, are you afraid we have nowhere to go? Have you forgotten that Father and Mother have an old house at the end of the street? It’s a bit remote and run-down, but if we clean it up, we can still live there.”
Outside, heavy snow was falling. Shen Zhihe and her brother, carrying their bundles, trudged through the snow, one deep step after another. Soon, a layer of white covered their dark hair.
About a quarter of an hour later, the siblings finally arrived at the old house.
A fence encircled the outside, and the courtyard was covered in white snow. Shen Zhihe’s gaze swept around. She pushed open the gate. Although the house before her was somewhat crude, it seemed to have a well and a stone millstone—it was fully equipped. It wasn’t just a dilapidated thatched hut as she had imagined. She led Shen Zhian into the courtyard, her eyes falling on the area beside the well. To her delight, she discovered a sizable plot of land under the snow. When spring came, she could plant some vegetables.
“Achoo!” A sneeze jolted her from her reverie. Shen Zhihe followed the sound and saw Shen Zhian’s small face, pale from the cold, looking at her and shivering.
“Zhian, it’s my fault. I forgot how cold it is. Let’s hurry inside.” Shen Zhihe quickly walked to the door, knelt down, and felt under a stone slab to the side, pulling out a key.
Perhaps because their mother used to come and clean often, the house, though simple, was very neat and tidy. Shen Zhihe followed her memory and led Shen Zhian inside. In a short while, she found the bedroom the original owner had used as a child. By now, Shen Zhian was coughing incessantly. His small face, which had been pale just moments ago, was now flushed red.
Alarmed, Shen Zhihe pressed her forehead against his and was startled by the scorching heat. She quickly carried Shen Zhian to the bed. She vaguely remembered that her mother seemed to have sent many things over a few days ago, including several quilts. Without time to think, she rushed to a cabinet on the side.
Seeing the thick quilts inside, Shen Zhihe’s heart filled with joy. She was immensely grateful for her mother’s foresight. She bent down, grabbed the quilts, and hurried back to the bedside. She quickly took off Shen Zhian’s outer coat, tucked him into the bedding, and turned to leave, only to find her sleeve caught in his grip.
His face was flushed with fever, and his eyes were filled with tears, as if he was afraid she would leave and never return.
Seeing his pitiful state, Shen Zhihe’s heart ached. She thought of how he had bravely stood in front of her earlier and soothed him gently, “Zhian, Sister is going to see if there’s any firewood in the house. Once I find some and start a fire, you can warm up and sweat it out. You’ll feel better then.”